Dr. Alexey Root

For April 14, Dr. Root taught the beginners how to play "bughouse," which is the partner chess game that we usually have time for after the awards ceremony on April 21.

For April 14, the intermediate students finished on the King and Queen vs. King checkmate, which they studied before April 14 at CHESSKIDS (Lesson/Quiz: King & Queen Mate). Some intermediate students have passed their King and Queen vs. King tests, and tested on the Advanced students' checkmate instead. The Advanced students' checkmate is the King and Rook vs. King checkmate, which they studied at CHESSKIDS (Lesson/Quiz: King & Rook Mate). The Advanced students who have already passed the King and Rook vs. King checkmate studied the King and Two Bishops vs. King checkmate, found HERE.

The reasons for learning these basic checkmates are:

1) If you are ahead in an endgame, you need to know how to win. For example, if you have a king and pawn and your opponent has a king, you should promote your pawn (to a queen) and know how to checkmate with your king and queen vs. the opponent's king.

2) Practicing these checkmates helps students learn the differences among check, checkmate, and stalemate.

3) Practicing these checkmates helps students understand the mobility of the chessmen and how that relates to the value of each chessman.